[Misty08]

Originally Posted by performingmonk

The painting is the best part of the show!


The other, more basic, explanation (and the one I believe, cause the netting one could easily mess up) is that Anthony can actually see through the pillowcase, and he says 'Elvis Presley' regardless of what name was on the slip he read. If you were on stage and could see that Derren was painting Elvis, would you say any other name? I know that I wouldn't, because I wouldn't want to ruin the show and look like a dick in front of an audience of people. Going along with the show is pretty much the basis of Derren's entire interaction with audience members, as it is with all magicians/illusionists/hypnotists. The key to it is maybe that Derren shouts 'say the name!' at him straightaway, and this, along with the music blasting away, is really pressuring the audience member into saying the right name.

What if they didn`t recognise the person Derren was painting? They have only been asked to confirm that they know the person on the piece of paper.If Derren then started painting someone else, I think they would be likely to be thrown completely. Of course there is a simple explanantion to all of these tricks, but I don`t think the member of the public being able to see is that simple explanation because it just wouldn`t work.

[Calibans Dream]

Originally Posted by John_Traynor

He's a bore. He has some bog-standard misdirection and auto suggestion techniques.

When did that imagined level of 'misdirection and auto suggestion techniques' become 'bog-standard'?

If they are that easy, I'll employ them next time I'm at the tills in Asda to get my shopping free.

[scone]

He was talking about the left hand, he emphasized on the words "devil" and "sinister" and linked them to the left hand which the lad was writing with, it's pretty obvious that the lad was very susceptible to suggestion and picked up on D for devil and S for sinister

[Misty08]

Originally Posted by scone

He was talking about the left hand, he emphasized on the words "devil" and "sinister" and linked them to the left hand which the lad was writing with, it's pretty obvious that the lad was very susceptible to suggestion and picked up on D for devil and S for sinister

You have to be very suggestible for it to work. As I said earlier, I went to two shows. The first show, my arm did not get stuck;the second show, I didn`t bother to try!. There is some footage on You Tube of some poor woman whose arm got stuck for the entire second half, was too embarrassed to say anything, and luckily, was able to meet Derran afterwards so he could release her arm!

[Alrightmate]

Originally Posted by Mrs Mackintosh

I lost interest in it halfway through, although I did enjoy the upside down Elvis painting. My daughter MADE me watch it on catch up the next day cos she loves Derren Brown and I was bored stiff by the number thing at the end. Clever as it is, it just leaves me cold.

I also found it lacking in keeping my attention. I didn't find it as engaging as other shows he's done over the years.
The whole numbers thing didn't really grab my attention.
Just seemed a bit too long winded and overly complex just to show us a number.
Is it here? is it there? Look over there at that number, It's not this number but that number, if you take the first digit...and on it went.

The look on my face probably really did look like a dog who's being shown a card trick.

I used to enjoy his series from years ago more, where he was either playing several games of chess against several good chess players, or getting people to rob security vans.
There was something just a bit more immediate and direct about them.

[.Lauren.]

I watched this show live In London.

This I found to be the most disappointing one so far, still enjoyable mind. I did find the tricks to be less impressive than the other shows.

The number 1499 is the same for all the shows.

I know how most of the tricks are done and it's amazing how many people fall for the psychological explanations given by Derren.

[Serenity79]

Originally Posted by scone

He was talking about the left hand, he emphasized on the words "devil" and "sinister" and linked them to the left hand which the lad was writing with, it's pretty obvious that the lad was very susceptible to suggestion and picked up on D for devil and S for sinister

Nope - said exactly the same stuff at the live show I was at, but the hanky there said 'MJ'.

[SuperAPJ]

Originally Posted by .Lauren.

I know how most of the tricks are done

In that case, we need a 'How Derren Brown does his tricks' thread!

[Misty08]

Originally Posted by SuperAPJ

In that case, we need a 'How Derren Brown does his tricks' thread!

It will be quite a short one, I think!

[Misty08]

Originally Posted by Serenity79

Nope - said exactly the same stuff at the live show I was at, but the hanky there said 'MJ'.

Yes, the initials on the hankerchief changed, but the patter didn`t. Let`s be honest here, we don`t know how he does the tricks.In fact saying "devil" and "sinister is probably classic misdirection.

[Espresso]

Originally Posted by .Lauren.

The number 1499 is the same for all the shows.

You're wrong there.

I work in a theatre and we had that show for a number of nights. Packed out each night. The number he used was not 1499. It wasn't the number of seats in the house, either, mind you.
Audience members wouldn't necessarily know the capacity of the theatre, of course, but staff will.

[scone]

Originally Posted by Serenity79

Nope - said exactly the same stuff at the live show I was at, but the hanky there said 'MJ'.

And what were the two words he emphasized on?

[jonm01]

Originally Posted by AdamCleland

He DOES have a strong talent that allows him to manipulate the minds of people in varying ways. For example, I bet you anything that he could do the "Where is Derren's shoe" with you 100 times and 100 times he would win. This isn't because of some magical device that moves the shoe to a different box, it's because he is sub consciously telling you which box you're going to pick.
...

LOL. Trust me, he isn't.

[Misty08]

Originally Posted by scone

And what were the two words he emphasized on?

Let me answer that. He said devil and sinister at both shows I saw, and the initials were not DS. This is a good example of people thinking they know how Derren does his tricks because that is how he has told us he does them. He`s fooled us there as well.

[gashead]

Originally Posted by Misty08

It will be quite a short one, I think!

Quite so, and right on cue to prove the point....

Originally Posted by jonm01

LOL. Trust me, he isn't.

[Serenity79]

Originally Posted by Misty08

Let me answer that. He said devil and sinister at both shows I saw, and the initials were not DS. This is a good example of people thinking they know how Derren does his tricks because that is how he has told us he does them. He`s fooled us there as well.

My point exactly

[Grand Dizzy]

I watched Svengali on TV the other day and enjoyed it.

I think it was about on a par with Enigma. Some good tricks, and a more impressive “big end trick”. However, without the co-writing skills of Andy Nyman this time, the overall presentation didn’t feel quite as well-rounded in terms of drama, humour and general pizazz. I just think it needed more fun, more personality, more big surprises, and more visually memorable stunts. For example, one of Derren’s most memorable stage tricks was when he instantly appeared inside a gorilla costume. The trick was really small, and pretty basic, but it was really clever, stunning, and memorable.

The show aside, what has really blown my mind is some of the comments on here. Apparently some people really believe Elvis’s name was just chosen at random and Derren painted that beautiful painting upside down with no preparation. That is mind-blowing! If Derren really could just read a volunteer’s mind and paint a beautiful celebrity picture on the spur of the moment, why wouldn’t he just ask the volunteer to think of the celebrity instead of using pieces of paper which can easily be forced?

The Elvis trick was without doubt the most stunning and memorable trick of the whole show. But it was stunning for its presentation, striking imagery, clever twist and the choice of music, not because it was a difficult trick. Forcing pieces of paper has been done a million times by Derren alone.

The Svengali machine was lovely, and full of potential, but I didn’t feel it was quite “magical” enough. It all felt a bit too controlled, like a set routine, rather than a dramatic “event”. I would have liked it if the robot did something that surprised Derren and really shocked the audience. Possibly something unsettling, or something to suggest that the machine had a sinister personality, or was even manipulating Derren somehow. Also, I don’t know if the machine was specially built for Derren but if it was I think it could have been a whole lot creepier in appearance. But, crucially, I think it lacked drama, personality.

Anyway, regardless of how successful any particular show is, there’s so much to love about Derren. Even his less popular live shows are still highly entertaining. He’s brought an old type of magic back that no one else was doing and cultivated it into something fresh and interesting, stamping his own style all over it and regularly leaving people amazed. There is no one else like Derren Brown! He’s a true magician: not just buying props and performing set routines which any fool can do, but creating stunts and crafting their presentation to such a degree that the trick itself isn’t the point and is often overlooked amidst all the misdirection and showmanship.